Vast numbers of viewers in 49 states tuned in on October 3 to see the afternoon-long show American Graduate Day broadcast on PBS stations in 138 markets. During a six-minute segment about the ACE experience, Eastern Pennsylvania affiliate alumnus, mentor, and board member Kevin Brown and recent Chicago affiliate student Raphael Scott explained ACE and described its impact on them.

As a result of the national broadcast, several affiliates, including Cleveland, Washington, DC, Twin Cities, Louisville, Nashville,and Eastern Pennsylvania, have developed relationships with their local PBS stations, which plan to feature their activities in the coming months.

New Affiliates Starting Up

ACE national, through the work of the Regional Directors, is excited to be helping several new affiliates start operations this program year. Gensler, a national sponsor, and the local AIA chapter have taken the lead in establishing the Austin, TX, affiliate. Forty students in five teams are expected to begin the program this fall.

Elsewhere across the south, affiliates in Baton Rouge, LA, and Greenville, SC, will start ACE in one school in early 2016. Stantec, a national sponsor that has launched ACE in other communities, sparked formation of the Baton Rouge affiliate, and in Greenville Turner Construction Company, a long-time national sponsor widely involved in ACE, and LS3P Architects are the prime movers behind the affiliate.

In the far West, the Utah affiliate, based in Salt Lake City, will start mentoring students early next year. The local AIA chapter is this affiliate’s champion. The Southern Nevada affiliate, operating in Las Vegas, is completing the necessary paperwork in order to be able to begin the program early next year. In addition to the building products manufacturer Simpson Strong-Tie, two national ACE sponsors – Associated General Contractors of America and IMPACT – are involved in the start-up of this affiliate.

Continuing in the spirit of the previous owners – McGraw-Hill Construction and its publishing successor Dodge Data & Analytics – BNP Media has agreed to sponsor ACE at the keystone level and to continue supporting the ACE – ENR Outstanding Mentor Award. Representing BNP Media, Scott Seltz, ENR’s new Publisher, has been nominated to serve on the ACE board.

ACE Alumni Win National Scholarships from USGBC

Eight ACE alumni have successfully competed for scholarships covering travel and/or registration fee waivers to attend the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild conference next month in Washington, DC. Out of almost 300 applicants, ACE alums garnered 10% of all the scholarships awarded.